1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric bending operation device having a bending portion operation section that performs bending operation of an electric bending portion provided in an insertion portion of a medical instrument for observation.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, medical endoscopes have been used that can observe diseased parts in the body by inserting an elongated insertion portion into the body, and perform various treatments using a treatment instrument passed through a treatment instrument channel if required.
An endoscope includes, on a distal end side of an insertion portion, a bending portion that bends, for example, vertically and laterally, for smoothly inserting the endoscope into a bending region and directing an observation optical system provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope in a desired direction. The bending portion generally bends by an operator rotating a bending knob provided on an operation portion to pull an angle wire. Specifically, the endoscope includes a manually operated bending mechanism.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent No. 3144559 discloses an electric bending endoscope apparatus. With the electric bending endoscope apparatus, bending instruction means such as a joystick provided on an operation portion is tilted to drive a bending motor and pull an angle wire, and thus a bending portion bends in an operation direction of the joystick.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2007-0100201A1 discloses an endoscope system that allows an operator to easily operate various functions of a treatment instrument passed through a treatment instrument channel of an endoscope or various functions of the endoscope while grasping an insertion portion of the endoscope. With the endoscope system, the operator can operate a bending knob by a hand grasping an operation portion of the endoscope, and can operate an operation instruction device by a hand grasping the insertion portion to perform various functions of the endoscope and the treatment instrument besides operating the insertion portion.
Providing the joystick in Japanese Patent No. 3144559 in the operation instruction device of the US Patent Application Publication No. 2007-0100201A1 allows an operator to operate the operation instruction device to perform various functions of the endoscope and the treatment instrument, and perform bending operation of a bending portion. Specifically, the operation instruction device and the electric bending endoscope apparatus are conceivably combined to improve operability.